Utah: "House-tending" - Living In Luxury In Shaky Real Estate

[El Pinko]

http://www.kutv.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=21361ed9-30ca-4150-adab-d1f81bf50306

Living In Luxury In Shaky Real Estate

It almost sounds too good to be true. With the nation's housing market in the dumps, some people are living in expensive homes, for just a fraction of a monthly mortgage payment; and its happening right here in Utah. Autumn Marler plays with her three children while her husband is away from home, working two jobs. But it hasn't always been this way.

“My husband lost his job recently and we lost our home for a foreclosure,” says Autumn. “He loves the fact that he doesn't feel like a failure because we're still living in a nice home.” The Marlers live in a beautiful 4,000 square-foot home in Kaysville... Well, not exactly. The home is owned by a family who now lives in Massachusetts. It's for sale for $349,000.

The Marlers are just "tending" it. “I'm paying an awesome amount of rent to live here,” says Autumn, “550-bucks a month.” But the Marlers move in their own furniture, pay all the monthly utilities, shovel the driveway and keep the home spotless for potential buyers who want to check it out. “A 2-bedroom apartment is about what we could probably have afforded, this is a much better option for us,” says Autumn.

....

But, of course, there is a catch. As wonderful as the situation might seem, as a hometender, you always have to be prepared to pack up and move out. “They're given about 10 days to move out from the day they get an offer,” says Cathy.

[idovoodoo]

1. Autumn is a silly little twit.

10 days from living on the street is a great deal? Who the hell raised this stupid woman?
:eyes:

[Mojorabbit]

3. If she is using the low rent

to sock away a nest egg it might be a good plan.

[idovoodoo]

4. Right. I forgot how easy it is to create a nest egg in a month.

But I'm old, I remember how it used to take a couple years.
:eyes:

[Kitty Herder]

6. I was thinking the same thing. nt

[Warpy]

2. Been there, done that, actually

only we were told we had 3 weeks after an offer was accepted, giving the owners a week to get in and do any repairs the new owners wanted before the papers passed.

I got used to living in a palace, although I unpacked few boxes. It was in a tourist town, so finding permanent digs was a real challenge. By the time the place sold, however, I had found a place and given the owner notice, so it all worked out perfectly for everybody.

Well, except my new digs were back to the usual shack.

[Angela Shelley]

5. "We´re still living in a nice home"

:-)